


Biggering

by MollyBriana



Category: The Lorax (2012)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Money, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-05 02:38:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1088600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MollyBriana/pseuds/MollyBriana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rise, and fall, of the Once-ler. Focuses on the elapsed time from when he chopped down the first truffula tree to when Ted plants the last truffula seed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Tree

“Alright, here we go! About to make a thneed, about to change the world,” the Once-ler said as he pulled a thick pair of gloves on to protect his hands from blistering as he chopped down his first truffula tree. He had been searching for months now to find the perfect material for his ambitious new invention. After all, a product that can do the jobs of thousands had to be made of something durable, soft, absorbent, and easy to wash. However, he couldn’t find a material that would meet all of those qualifications, until he stumbled upon the valley of the truffula trees.

The wooded paradise was unlike anything he’d ever seen. Everywhere colorful trees towered above lush green grass and clear, cool brooks. Small creatures such as fuzzy barb-a-loots, majestic swami swans, and melodious humming fish brought the forest to life, and added motion and sound to the colorful landscape.

The truffula trees truly held his attention, though. Not only for their natural beauty and majesty, but also because of the fact they produced the perfect material for his thneed. The entrepreneur inside of him felt like a child in an amusement park, full of wonder and excitement for the surprises that were sure to come. He would finally make his thneed, be successful, and prove all the nay-sayers wrong. His mother may even be proud of him when he succeeds!

The tree he chose to chop down was just a few feet away from the river and away from his new home in case the tree fell the wrong way. He took a moment to position himself into a sturdy stance, took careful aim, and swung at the tree. The axe hacked into the tree, splitting its wood and sending splinters everywhere. Maybe a pair of safety goggles would be a wise investment? The Once-ler continued to chop, and neglected to notice the animals fearfully running away from the scene. Right before the tree was ready to fall over, he heard an urgent voice yell to him.

“Hey! Stop!”

It was too late. The tree tipped over, and a majority of it landed in the river. The Once-ler glanced around to see who had yelled at him, but didn’t see another person for miles. It certainly wasn’t one of the forest critters, and it was too clear and loud to be an echo from some hidden part of the forest.

“Great, now I have to drag this tree out of the wat-“ the Once-ler mumbled, then paused as his eyes fell on the tree and what had yelled at him. She was a lot easier to see now that the soft, pink tufts of the tree were saturated with water, along with the girl herself. She sat up and carefully moved her long, cherry red hair out of her face.  
“Whoa! I’m so sorry!” the Once-ler apologized as he hopped into the river and went to help the girl up. The water was generally shallow, and only reached his knees, but the girl was soaked head to toe due to being plunged into the water. He extended his hand to help her up, which she gladly accepted.

“Thanks,” she said as she felt a gentle, yet firm tug pull her out of the water. The girl had long, red hair, pale skin, grayish-blue eyes, and bright red lips. She wore a white sundress with a simple gray and pale red flower pattern, a thick red ribbon that wrapped around her waist and tied into a bow in the back, and gray flats to complete the look.  
“Are you okay? Where did you come from?” the Once-ler asked.

“I was napping in the tree, since my home is a small walk away. Not to mention, there’s nothing quite like sleeping in a truffula tree. Its tufts are so soft,” she explained. Her eyes scanned the fallen truffula tree as a concerned look crossed her face. “Oh… He is not going to be happy…” she mumbled.

“What?” the Once-ler inquired. “Who? Are you okay?”

The girl nodded then answered, “You’ll see.”

“Um, I have a towel back at my house. We can get you dried up,” he suggested. He figured she must’ve hit her head when she tumbled out of the tree. She probably just needed to dry off and rest for a bit before regaining her sense.

The Once-ler lead her to his cottage and instructed her to sit on the couch. “Sorry if it’s messy in here, I’m just settling in,” he explained as he dug through a sack for a suitable towel. When he found one, he grabbed it and walked over to the couch. “I’m the Once-ler, by the way,” he introduced as he handed her the towel and sat across from her.

“Thanks, I’m Sheryl. But please don’t call me that. Call me Cherri,” the red head replied.

He cracked a smile at the irony of her looks and her chosen nickname. “Nice to meet you. Let me guess, you have that nickname because of your hair.”

“Sort of,” Cherri answered. “At first, my nickname was just Sherry, but when my hair got red, Cherri just stuck.”

“It suits you,” he replied and stood up. “Dry off and make yourself at home. I have to go take care of something.”

“Oh?” she asked as she wrapped her hair in the towel to soak up the water.

“Yep! I’m going to make a thneed!” he beamed and then marched out the door before Cherri was able to properly thank him.

He walked back to the site where he chopped down the tree, whistling a song he wrote during his travels. He closed his eyes and focused on his future success, and finally opened them when he arrived. The first thing he noticed was a strange circle of rocks surrounding the tree, but when he looked up he noticed and even stranger looking orange creature with a yellow mustache.


	2. Call of the Lorax

The creature wasn’t very tall, in fact, it seemed lucky he could’ve climbed on the stump of the tree in the first place. Still, he kept an authoritative look about him, despite the orange and yellow fur. “Hey,” he said sternly and placed his hands on his hips, “Did you chop down this tree?”

“Ah!” The Once-ler exclaimed as he stumbled back and fell onto the ground. Not only had he never seen a creature such as this, but he also never heard of one being literate. His mind was clouded with shock, and his first instinct was to completely deny everything. “Uh… Noooo,” he said and sat up. He leaned onto one knee and looked around. “Who did it?!”

Then, a quick idea came to him as he looked in the other direction. He gasped and pointed at nothing. “What’s that?!”

The Lorax took the bait and looked in the direction the Once-ler was pointing in. While the creature was distracted, he attempted to dispose of the axe, and by dispose, he meant framing a barb-a-loot who couldn’t even pick up the strange object. He dropped it on top of him, making sure the metal end stayed clear of the creature. “I think he did it.”

The Lorax only glared at him and growled. “Leave! Vacate the premises! Take your axe and get out!” the creature ordered.

The Once-ler only blinked. “And… who are you?” he asked and poked the fuzzy creature.

“Wha-what? I’m the Lorax! Guardian of the Forest. I speak for the trees,” the creature introduced, shocked that the intruder had never heard of him before. Every living thing in the forest knew who the Lorax was. He was their great protector who preserved their home and kept impending dangers out. “So, you’re telling me you didn’t just see me appear out of that stump, with all the lightning and thunder and stuff? You didn’t see any of that?”

“No, I had to help a girl I knocked out the tree, but that sounds amazing! Can I see some of that?” the Once-ler asked, hoping to see a display of great natural and cosmic powers. Or just to prove that, when the Lorax couldn’t do it, he had no authority over what he did.

“Yeah, I could show you, but that’s not how it works,” he answered. What the Once-ler said then fully registered in the Lorax’s mind. “Did you say some girl? I knew it! I knew letting one human live in the forest would make more flock here. I should’ve never made a deal with her.”

“Okay, um, first of all,” the Once-ler started and adopted a thinking pose. “Didn’t really happen. Second of all, what are you talking about? Oh, you’re the thing Cherri said wasn’t going to be happy, and here I thought she was delusional because she hit her head. Turns out, I’m crazy too.”

The Lorax scowled at the intruder’s sarcasm, and continued his rant. “So you do know her! You and you’re little girlfriend need to get out of here, pronto! I don’t want to see any more people within five miles of this place!”

“Whoa! Slow down there mustache. I don’t even know the girl, and I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to make a thneed!” he proudly proclaimed. Then, a thought occurred to him about why the creature was so grumpy. “Oh, I know what you want. I got one of these for the cutest little guy I ever saw!” he said as he adopted a slightly insulting baby-talk voice while pulling out a marshmallow.

“How dare you!” the Lorax seethed as he looked at the strange white cylinder. However, the creatures that he carefully watched over did seem to be fascinated by them, so perhaps it was a good idea to see what all the fuss was about. “Give me that!” he ordered and swiped the marshmallow out of his hand. He brought it up to his nose so he could sniff it, and his senses filled with the sweet scent of a sugary aroma. The very smell of it made his mouth water, and he couldn’t resist. “Now, I’m going to eat this, but I’m highly offended by it!”

Despite his statement, the Lorax still felt like he had to do something to get this beanpole of a human to leave. He glanced around, then walked up to what was undoubtedly the tent home the Once-ler was living in. He stopped at one of the spikes that was dug into the ground, looked at him, and kicked the spike up. He quickly ran to the next and repeated the kick.

“Whoa! What are you- Hey! Mustache!” The Once-ler said as he quickly grabbed the spike and hammered it back in. He did it just in time to stop the structure from collapsing. “Will you stop that? There’s a person in there!”

The Lorax continued to kick up the spikes, and the Once-ler continued to hammer them back in. Things didn’t seem to be going anywhere for either of them. The Lorax glanced back to see how far ahead he was of the beanpole, only to see that he was rushing and didn’t notice the barb-a-loot clinging onto the spike. The rest, as we know, is history.

Once the annoying Lorax was gone, the Once-ler trudged into his living space and sat down on the couch. Cherri was no longer there, but he hardly noticed as he thought over the argument he just had. What forces of nature could possibly harm him? As a person, he was a part of nature as well, and wasn’t the Lorax supposed to protect nature? The furry little peanut had to be bluffing.

Once-ler pinched the bridge of his nose and decided to find something to occupy his time. Making a thneed was out of the question, because the tufts of the truffula tree had to dry out. He decided on unpacking the rest of his things and making himself at home. After all, he wouldn’t have the time to do it once his business was in full swing.


End file.
